Quote:
Originally Posted by greenboy In these instances it often becomes the amp manufacturers' contention that the cab manufacturer is at fault. But pro power amps play fine with Acmes, as do a lot of other heads, even when driven hard.
I think that the designs of micro/mini heads - and the modules they are built around - is compromised or not fully mature. In order to meet price points and weight expectations things are not as robust as what you find in pro power amps. It tends to slip through the cracks with many cab pairings because the drivers used in many commercial bass cabs are of a different nature.
As a crossover designer now, I fully appreciate how this can also play into such a scenario. It's possible the Acme crossovers are making a more difficult load. But still, the bottom line is that Acmes have been used successfully with many other forms of amplification. |
This is not a 'micro head' issue at all, but rather a unique issue with Markbass when matched with a limited number of cabs (primarily the EA NL210 x 2 or the Acme's) with, I assume, unusual impedance curves, etc.
For some reason, the MB heads are a bit touchy on impedance under 4ohms. If you really dig the MB heads, don't get an Acme. If you really dig the Acme cabs, don't choose a Markbass head. Virtually all the other thousands of pairings will work fine.
I agree, this is a Markbass issue and not an Acme issue, since heads should not be designed with protection circuitry that is that touchy. However, for most MB users, it is a zero issue.